In Memory Of
by wemaybefangirls
Summary: Kaneki Ken was raised in a normal family, and his childhood was really not a tragedy. However, for some reason he had always seemed to know certain people despite never meeting them, speaking to them or even knowing them. One Autumn day, he finally speaks to a boy that gave him that feeling, and what happens from that moment on will take him on a long adventure
1. The Magician and the Empress

Kaneki Ken, while not a person with a perfect life could easily admit that his life was not - and would never be - anything remotely resembling a tragedy. He was raised in a loving home with his kindhearted, hardworking mother and his bookish, but friendly dad. He had outstanding grades, many close friends, and an aunt and cousin that loved him beyond belief. However, his entire life, he had one thing that bothered him. Certain names, phrases, words seemed absolutely familiar to him. But he could swear he had never hear them before. In his childhood, when he had first heard the name "Hideyoshi", he had instantly pictured a boy about his age with blond hair, despite never seeing a single person named Hideyoshi. Strangely enough, when he was ten or so, a boy named Hideyoshi Nagachika had transferred into his class, and looked like the Hideyoshi in his dreams. He had written in off on coincidence, and had never told a single soul about this. There were instances where he heard a name on a CCG report that sounded so awfully familiar, as if he knew that person very well, but he could never recall how he knew it.

When he was eighteen, he had decided to attend Kamii University in the 20th ward of Tokyo to pursue his dream of becoming an editor. To him, language, especially in written form, was magical. It could be as fierce as a tiger, flow as smoothly as a river or burn away all hope like a rapidly spreading wildfire. The first time he had seen a novel use writing in such diverse ways was when he had read a novel by the then-sixteen author Takatsuki Sen. _The Black Goat's Egg_ had lead him to love literature - and that had been a very long time ago. However, for some reason, just like Hideyoshi's name, the book seemed terribly familiar, like an old friend that he had met once again, while the name Takatsuki Sen brought him unimaginable anguish. Kaneki had again decided to ignore those feelings. After all, it's possible that his father, an avid reader like himself despite his job as a marketing expert had told him about the book before he had picked it up and read it himself.

The first day of classes, to him, was terribly nerve-racking, as well as stressful. He, for the first time since his childhood was not surrounded by friends, and that made him very lonely and scared. Those were not emotions that Kaneki was used to feeling, and feeling them scared Kaneki more then they should've. However, everything changed on his second day. When he entered his Analysis 101 class, a loud shout of his name broke him out of his daze.

"Hey, Kaneki, right? Come and sit over here!"

Kaneki's head snapped towards the boy had called his name, and his eyes marginally widened. What was Nagachika doing in his classroom?

"A-ah, alright." He replied back nervously, unsure of why the other wanted him anywhere near. It wasn't like they were close friends or something. They were classmates, that's all.

As soon as Kaneki made his way over to Nagachika, he kept wondered why the other boy was even calling him over.

"Hey, Kaneki, why exactly are you taking this class?" was the first thing that Nagachika blurted when Kaneki sat down in the chair beside him. Kaneki's eyebrow arched.

"What do you mean?" he asked, wondering whether the other boy was judging him.

Nagachika chuckled brightly, much to Kaneki's surprise. _He has a nice laugh._ Kaneki thought, before returning his attention to his companion.

"Why are you taking Analysis 101? It's not really a common class, is it? There are like twenty of us here." he stated cheerfully, his eyes still lit up in a chuckle.

"I want to be an editor, so I like analyzing novels in particular. How about you?"

"Well, my dad always wanted me to be a CCG officer, and I always wanted to be a detective or a spy or something, like one of those movies, you know?" Kaneki nodded. "So I decided to become a CCG detective. Well, I'm officially a 'Deputy Junior Assistant', " he said those words in an almost mocking tone, but continued as earnestly as before "but I'll rank up in no time! And you always walked around with some sort of thick book with like a million pages in it, so it's not shocking that you want to be something bookish!"

Kaneki chuckled at Nagachika's enthusiastic reply before saying something that would change his life for the better. "Can I call you Hide?" As soon as those words slipped out of his mouth, he gasped. That was so terribly impolite! However, he didn't want to take what he said back, or even apologize. To him, Nagachika was Hide, and he didn't know why.

Hide, yes he was now Hide, looked shocked for a second or two before turning a wide grin to Kaneki. "Sure, I don't mind at all!" he replied with a giant grin on his face.

Kaneki sighed internally, though he didn't know what he was so relieved about. Why was he so exited about an almost-stranger and him changing to a first-name basis? He shook his head. It was another one of those strange familiarities that he could never explain, and didn't want to explain. It was comforting to have Hide right beside him, as if they belonged together, and were an unbreakable duo. Of course, these thoughts were ridiculous. They were classmates for a few years, but they had barely even spoken. To call someone like that your other half is creepy and unpleasant, but Kaneki, for some reason didn't mind. The duo sat beside each other in silence for a while, both thinking their own thoughts

Hide nudged Kaneki out of his thoughts, and jerked his thumb at the front of the classroom. "This is only the second day, and the teacher's already late. Do you think this will always be this way?" he remarked, glancing around the other students who were preoccupied with their own things. "Like, will we never attend class?"

His companion's lips twitched up slightly, amused by Hide's inability to be patient. "Calm down. It's been twenty eight minutes."

"It's been longer!" came the cheery reply, as Hide overdramatically fell forwards onto the hard wooden desk in front of him. "It had been decades! Centuries! Eons! Kaneki, help me! I'm trapped in a class for all of eternity!"

Kaneki's smile widened. "Well, in," he checked his watch "a minute, if the teacher doesn't show up, we can go home." Hide instantly popped up from his position on the desk.

"Want to go to a nice cafe around here? It's amazing!" he said with the wide grin back on his face

"Sure. I have no classes left today, and no homework, so it's fine."

The 'class', if you could even call it that ended and the duo made their way towards the cafe that Hide suggested.

"This is Anteiku! It is amazing!" Hide called to Kaneki as they entered the small, but well-decorated and well-lit cafe.

A young girl with dark purple hair was leaning onto the counter, her bangs falling in front of her face. Kaneki's mind started turning. He knew her. He didn't know why, and he didn't know how, but he knew her. Her name was on the tip of his tongue, but he had never met her. It was the same sensation he felt around Hide, this feeling of knowing those people…

Hide seemingly noticed Kaneki's growing discomfort, but didn't comment on it at all. "Kaneki, this is Kirishima! Kirishima, this is Kaneki! He's my classmate!" he called out, smiling brightly.

Kirishima looked back and nodded. Kaneki's heart leapt up. _Her name is Touka._


	2. Clover Girl and the Mother

As 'Touka' turned to look at him, Kaneki realized that the feeling was right. Not only had Kaneki never seen her before in real life, but she obviously didn't recognize him. He didn't know whether to be relieved or not. On one hand, it would've made him knowing her name less creepy. On the other hand, he was happy that he hadn't suddenly forgotten a person's name. It would've been terribly awkward for him to do that, after all. He stuck his hand out to her, and smiled as invitingly as he could.

"Nice to meet you!" he said with a wide, and rather genuine smile.

'Touka' looked him up and down, and then, meeting his eyes, took his hand. "Hm. Likewise. Are you," she nodded her head towards Hide, "his friend?' she asked.

Kaneki shrugged. "I guess…"

"Tch. You guess. This isn't a difficult question. Yes, or no. Choose."

Hide looked at Kaneki with an unclear expression as the latter gave his answer. "I guess he is."

Hide looked away with a smile on his face.

"Anyways, what are you guys doing here?" 'Touka' demanded abruptly. "Chika, I thought you had classes."

Hideyoshi looked at her with a smile, obviously the cooler one. "Well, the teacher didn't come to class, so we left. Why are you so stressed?"

'Touka' rolled her eyes angrily. "Ugh. Whatever. Nishiki isn't coming tomorrow, and I'll have to do double shifts. I'm sure he's taking the day off to hang out with Kimi. She's fine, but together? Nishiki loses all work ethics."

Hide chuckled. "Well, I can't help you with that. I have really, really good classes tomorrow! Have fun!"

'Touka' grimaced. "Yeah, I got that. Do you maybe know anyone that can help?"

Kaneki felt awkward standing on the sidelines, and felt sorry for the girl. She was obviously a High School student, and he figured that she had enough on her plate without this second shift. "Hey, Kirishima, if you want, I might not work here, but I can definitely help you out…" he muttered softly

The duo turned sharply towards him, their faces showing two very different facial expressions. Hide was confused, not really understanding why Kaneki was doing this while 'Touka' was both suspicious and happy. "Why do you want to do this?" she asked, trying to keep a decently stoic expression on her face. "Don't you have classes?"

He shook his head. "No, tomorrow is my day off."

"Then why do you want to do this?" her voice gained a suspicious note, probably wondering why a college student would sacrifice a day off to work in a small coffee shop. Kaneki himself didn't know why he wanted to do this - it felt right. Somehow, he wanted to work in Anteiku, even temporarily.

"Well, you seem nice, and you're Hide's friend, so…" Kaneki responded, not sure what convinced him to say that.

'Touka''s eyes narrowed. "So, you didn't know if he's your friend, but you call him Hide? Why?"

Suddenly, the chime above the door rang out, indicating the arrival of new customers. 'Touka' instantly straightened out, and smiled at the two new customers, a young girl and and older woman, seemingly her mother.

"Hello, Ms. and Mrs. Fueguchi! Welcome back to Anteiku! How may I help you?" she said brightly, her tone making an 180 degree twist. "Hide, Kaneki, I'll get you your drinks shortly. Sit down somewhere."

As Kaneki and Hide left to sit down, the woman walked up to the counter, her daughter following behind her. "Hello, Kirishima. How are things going?" the woman asked, smiling softly, which matched her soft voice.

Touka shrugged, her face not showing much expression. "Not bad, not bad. Why are you here? Is this a social visit?" she asked, as if it was a normal question.

` The woman shook her head. "I'd like to see the manager, please." she looked worried, and slightly uncomfortable, as her eyes shifted quickly around the room.

Touka nodded. "I'll escort you to his office, if you want."

"Thank you."

The three women left towards the back of the cafe. As Touka entered the door, she looked over her shoulder and called to the duo still sitting and called out to them.

"I'll be back in a few minutes. Entertain yourselves."

As soon as the door closed being Touka, Hide started laughing. "What was that? Why do you want to help her? You don't even know Kiri!"

Kaneki flushed a bright red as he looked away from Hide. "Look, she seems nice and all. And why are you calling her Kiri all of a sudden?

Hide's laughter suddenly ceased, as quickly as it had began. "Well, she isn't really a… fan of being nicknamed. So, I call her Kiri when she's out of earshot… We've kinda known each other for a while, so yeah. But honestly, why do you want to help her? You don't know her…"

Kaneki shrugged. "She seems nice, although… mildly angry… I guess?"

Hide smirked. "She is, isn't she? If you want, I can stop by after classes to keep you company. You won't have all that many customers from now until five or so…"

"That would be absolutely fantastic."

Kaneki and Hide spent the next couple minutes just talking about the first things in life - their favourite books, movies, music, drinks - anything their minds came to, to be exact. Hide was in the middle of telling Kaneki about that one time he had worn his shirt backwards and inside out to picture day, and how no one had really told him anything until the class received the pictures. In fact, they were so engrossed that they didn't notice Touka enter the room, nor pour their drinks.

"So, here I am, looking at my picture and I notice - my shirt is inside out. No one in the class comments, not a single kid laughs. And I'm wondering - am I seeing things? But no. This is my shirt, I wore it as wrong as I possibly could." Hide concluded his story with a flourish, falling back onto his chair as fancily as possible. Kaneki laughed and fell back onto the chair.

"Wow, this is pretty amazing. How did you manage?"

"I was seven or eight, to be fair. I was still very little!"

"Somehow, I managed to dress myself by my fifth birthday."

Touka coughed loudly from beside them. "Guys, I brought your drinks. Will you stay or go?"

Kaneki shrugged. "We can go. Should I give you my number so you can text me the details after your shift?"

Touka nodded, and took out her old phone. "Here. Put your number in."

After exchanging numbers and goodbyes, Hide and Kaneki left, while Touka stayed at the counter.


	3. Ravenous Officer

Kaneki woke up bright and early that morning, a soft smile gracing his features. This day was going to be good - the sun was shining, the weather was supposed to be warm, and he had no classes. Yes, he had a couple of hours of work, but Anteiku was a very nice place, and it was probably more fun then just sitting around. He got dressed in nicer clothing then usual, to imitate the uniform, and brushed his teeth, before going downstairs to eat breakfast - coffee and some pancakes. Ever since Kaneki decided to move out, he decided that he should learn how to cook, and asked his aunt to teach him. She obviously agreed.

After finishing up, he grabbed his cellphone, keys and wallet, put on shoes and a nicer jacket and left to go to his "job". Thankfully, due to it being after the peak hour, the subway was not packed, and he managed to grab a seat in order to reread "Dear Kafka", Takatsuki's debut work. For some strange reason, he had felt the need to read her works - and when he had given in to that temptation, he had decided to start at the very beginning.

When the train had pulled into the station, he gathered up his bag and left. Thankfully, the coffeeshop was a short stroll away from the station, and he had around six minutes until he was supposed to meet all the employees and learn what he was supposed to do. Suddenly, his phone rang.

"Kaneki, you almost there?" called the voice, which Kaneki instantly recognized as Touka.

"Yeah. I'm maybe five minutes away or so, so I'm pretty early." he replied.

"Mhm. Your friend is here," she said with a mild sigh "so show up as soon as you can. He's getting bored." she quickly hung up.

His eyes widened after Touka said that. Why would Hide decide to show up? Didn't he have classes? And even then, if he didn't have classes, why would he visit Kaneki at his "job", if you could call it that. He unconsciously spend up, and stopped watching where he was going. Suddenly, he felt himself bump into someone, and fall. A hand quickly reached to grab him by the arm, to prevent Kaneki from hitting the ground."

"Are you ok!" while Kaneki couldn't yet see the face of his saviour, the voice was rather deep and very clearly masculine.

Kaneki jumped up shaking his head and, not yet looking at the man smiled. "Yeah, I'm fine. Sorry, I have to go!" without even turning around, he ran off towards the cafe, embarrassed by bumping into someone.

While on his way, he didn't notice that he had dropped his cellphone beside the man.

Five minutes later, Kaneki showed up at Anteiku, still embarrassed about what had happened. Touka was standing at the counter, with people bustling around the shop. As soon as Kaneki entered the building, her eyes slightly lit up, and she waved him over.

"Get over here. You're a minute late! I'm busy this second, but be at that door," she jerked her thumb towards the door marked Employees Only "in a minute. Hide is over there."

Kaneki looked over in the general direction that Touka waved at, and saw that, yes, Hide was sitting and listening to music. Walking over there, Kaneki tapped Hide on his shoulder.

"Hide? I'm here." he said as Hide almost jumped up.

"Yo, don't do that! And why didn't you check your phone?! I texted you like, a billion times.

Kaneki frowned. "What? I didn't receive any notifications…" He reached into his bag and started feeling around for his phone. "Wait, where is it?" Kaneki's movements became more and more frantic and panicked.

Hide sighed. "Should I just call it?"

Kaneki nodded quickly. "Yes please! Thank you very much!"

Hide rolled his eyes. "No need to thank me. I'm your friend, dude."

While Kaneki didn't verbally respond, he felt warm on the inside. He was happy that someone as warm as Hide recognized him as a friend. There was also a very familiar feeling, like he had this moment happen to him before. He looked at his bag and closed it, setting it beside him. The phone rang again, before being picked up.

"Hello." Kaneki almost gasped. It was the man from before. "I'm assuming you're the person that bumped into me."

Hide chuckled. "So, that's what Kaneki did. He's a friend of mine. Sorry for that."

The man on the other side laughed, too. "Well, tell him that for reference, my name is Amon." suddenly, Kaneki felt that feeling again - the feeling of familiarity towards that person. Despite Kaneki feeling like the world had ended again, Amon kept on talking. "I'm busy until 7 or so, but then I'll be able to drop his phone in."

Kaneki spoke up again, this time less hesitant then he should've been. "I'm going to be working at Anteiku at that time, but if you could show up there at 8, when my shift ends, I would appreciate it."

"Anteiku…" Amon repeated that word again. "Sure. That's alright." Amon hung up.

Hide smiled at Kaneki. "Well, that solves it."

Kaneki sighed at his optimistic friend. "Really? What if he doesn't show up?"

"Well then, we'll spam him with texts and calls for all eternity. Anyways, Touka is giving you the evil eye. You should get over to where you're supposed to be."

Kaneki's eyes want to Touka, who was waiting at the door with her arms crossed, glaring at him.

"Shit, I'd better go!" Kaneki called out as he made his way to Touka, accompanied by Hide's bright laugh.

As soon as he arrived, Touka grabbed him by the arm and walked thru the 'Employees Only' door, dragging him behind her.

"Here we go. I'll have Yomo explain what you'll be doing, and after his shift, either Enji or Roma will help you, depending on what you'll be doing. Don't go thru any of the doors unless Nishiki allows you, don't break anything, and be productive."

Before Touka pulled him inside, Kaneki asked "Who exactly is Yomo?"

Just as Touka was about to respond, a tall, pale-haired man walked towards them. "I'm Yomo."

"Exactly. That's him."

Kaneki nodded, as Yomo looked at Touka questioningly.

"He's Kaneki, who's replacing me replacing Nishiki", she replied to his unasked question.

"So Nishiki isn't here again?" Yomo asked.

Touka nodded. "Yep."

Yomo nodded and looked at Kaneki. "Let's go." he said as Kaneki followed him into the back of the store.


	4. L'Homme français, et mon Amon

Yomo walked silently beside Kaneki, not really saying anything at all. Eventually, when they reached the kitchen area, Yomo spoke.

"This is the kitchen area - since you won't be making any of the food, you shouldn't go in there."

Kaneki's eyes widened. The man just spoke. Ignoring his surprise, Kaneki quickly asked "What will I be doing?"

Yomo paused for a moment, before looking back at Kaneki. "You will be helping Enji with taking orders, and working in the front of house."

Kaneki nodded, but on the inside he was very confused. Shouldn't Yomo tell him what he would b doing in more detail? Because while he now had a general idea of his role, he was still very much confused on the details and rules of his temporary job.

Yomo walked Kaneki over to beside a young man with a pompadour and a very… odd nose to say the least.

"Enji, this is Kaneki. He is replacing Touka for today. He will be helping you in the front-of-house." With those words, Yomo left, Kaneki staring after him.

"What an odd guy." Kaneki did't even notice as these words slipped out, until Enji burst out laughing.

"He's strange, sure, but not bad. Don't worry, I'll show you what to do - it's pretty simple. It doesn't require any training."

Enjoy quickly launched into a brief explanation of Kaneki's role - basically, to ask people what they wanted, and give the orders to Enji, who would prepare the drinks. It was't exiting, sure, but it wasn't complicated, so Kaneki was graceful for that.

A while later, Kaneki smiled at the customer in line, an average-height boy with very pale blonde hair that was slicked back. The strange thing about the guy was definitely his appearance, though. His eyes were surrounded by eyeliner - and it was actually really well done - as if he spent hours on it. He was also wearing very nice white suit, that was clearly perfectly suited to his body. What was a guy like that doing here? And why was he wearing a white suit, too? It made no sense at all.

"Hello! What would you like to order?" Kaneki asked, smiling brightly at the guy, who grinned back.

The blond blinked, and handed Kaneki a slip of paper. On it was a list of coffee orders. Why didn't he say them out loud? Kaneki nodded, and looked up at the guy.

"Why do you carry around a paper with orders on it?" he asked, very much confused.

The boy spoke up. "Aniki doesn't trust me with remebreing things… And those are hard words!" he didn't at all seem disheartened by that, though. In fact, he seemed very exited that he was trusted with something…

After shaking his head to clear out the confusion this incident had produced, Kaneki nodded at Naki, smiled at him, and passed the order to Enji, smiling at the guy that had just flounced over to wait for his coffee. He was very unusual… Turning toward the older man, he asked him straight-up and bluntly -

"Do you know who that is?" he asked, assuming by his familiarity that that guy was a regular.

Enji chuckled. "He's Naki, or that's what he calls himself. Really weird, and has a great love for Aniki, who's scary himself."

Kaneki blinked. "Alright…"

Enji chuckled again. "He's kinda a regular, and occasionally talks about himself a lot. Plus, he's cheerful and a nice person to be around."

Kaneki himself laughed at that. "Seems that way."

An hour or so after that incident, a young man walked into the cafe. He was talking very quickly on his phone in a foreign language.

"Oui, oui, je comprends que je serais en retard - je suis pas un idiot."

"Vraiment? Paris ne va pas brûler si je arrive au aéroport dix minutes en retard. Tu va survivre. Tu est une femme forte. Tu peux attendre!"

"Mon dieux, je serais à l'Université! J'ai un quiz qui est vaux 10% de ma notte finale! Qu'est ce que tu veux que je fais? Manque ce quiz?"

"Arrête de me toujours critiquer! Je n'aime pas ceci. Tu est une femme cruelle et méchante. Je ne veut pas te parler maintenant! Au revoir."

The man hung up, and let out a frustrated sigh. "Why am I even doing this for her?" he muttered under his breath.

Kaneki grimaced, but quickly straightened when the man approached him. "I hope he doesn't get rude with me…"

"Hello! What would you like to order?"

The man approached him, breathed in deeply and let out the breath, putting on a large smile.

"A plain black coffee. The largest size that exists, s'il te plait."

Kaneki nodded and gave the order to Enji. Before the man left, Kaneki asked him,

"Hey, is everything alright? You look very upset…"

The man turned back to Kaneki, and gave a soft smile. "Well, not really. Things such right now, but hey. C'est la vie."

Kaneki nodded, and smiled. "Well, I hope you have a better day soon! Wish you luck in whatever's happening!"

The man smiled a bright, shining grin as he took his coffee. "Thank you! I wish you luck too."

After the man had left, Kaneki kept looking out the window, hoping to see him again.

The day had passed much quicker then Kaneki had expected. The work was pretty fun. It wasn't free time, for sure, but it was better then doing nothing, and he was proud that he had helped a friend out.

Amon was supposed to show up in a couple of minutes, and Kaneki was exited to get his phone back, and meet his phone's saviour. The man had a very nice voice, that was for sure. At that thought, Kaneki had blushed. "OK, stop being creepy towards a guy who you're never even seen. He'll show up soon, and you can be creepy then." he murmured softly so that no one would hear him.

The shop was getting rather crowded. It was rather cold outside, so people would occasionally pop in to order a warm drink and proceed on their merry way.

Eventually, the door opened up and walked in two men - a tall, handsome man wearing a suit and tie, and a shorter, older man wearing a light-coloured trench coat. Both were carrying briefcases, and when Enji saw them, he swallowed awkwardly, and positioned himself to hide his face behind the coffee maker.

After seeing him, the taller man let out a breath, and strode across the shop towards him, the older man following him.

"You're Kaneki, correct?"

Kaneki nodded, recognizing the voice as the man he had bumped into. "Yes, I am."

Amon nodded, and reached into a pocket, taking out a familiar device. "Here it is." He passed the phone across the counter.

Kaneki took his phone and put it into his pocket, a smile stretching across his face. "Thank you so much! I was so scared I'd have to buy a new one!"

Amon waved his hand. "You're welcome. It was totally fine. Now that myself and my partner are here, we would like…"

The other man shook his head. "Amon, make decisions before you order. I'll have a large black tea."

Amon nodded. "I'll have the same."

Only after the two had paid and left had Kaneki noticed Enji breathe out a sigh of relief.


	5. Lady is Here

Visiting Anteiku became somewhat of a tradition for Kaneki and Hide. After the classes of both boys had ended, they stopped by Hide's apartment, which was in between the coffee shop and the University, after which they went directly to Anteiku.

Touka, who's school ended much earlier then theirs, was their server. Most days when they get out of school the café was ridiculously busy, so they rarely had a chance to talk to her while she was working. That was probably for the better - Touka valued this job, and them talking to her while she was working probably wouldn't have looked good on her work record.

Over the time that they had visited the café, Kaneki had learned the names of more and more Anteiku workers. Irimi was a woman around Enji's age with longish, dark hair, Roma was a young, clumsy woman that seemed to be hiding something.

But Nishiki had always eluded them. They always either came in too late, or left too early to see him. So, their curiosity grew and grew. Eventually, they decided to ask Touka when the guy was going to show up.

"Nishiki? Mhm… I think he will be here at 7." She responded, not knowing why they wanted to see Nishiki. If she could go without seeing him, her life would be infinitely better. But it was their choice, and as their 'friend' she had no right to intervene.

"Yes! We shall finally meet him!" Hide called out, waving his empty cappuccino around.

"Bye!" Kaneki called to Touka as he and Hide made their way out of the café. He rolled his eyes at Hide's grin. "Why are you so exited to meet Nishiki?" he asked, glancing at his watch. "And also, it's around 5. What do you suggest we do?"

Hide smiled at Kaneki. "Well, we can go to the bookstore, if you want. I know you love being there. And I just want to meet Nishikiii." his voice was so whiny and childish that Kaneki couldn't help but laugh.

"Are you sure you want to go to the bookstore? I mean, I know you hate books."

"I don't hate them. I just find them boring! Sheesh, I'm not that bad. But I know you want to go, and you're my friend…" Hide's voice trailed off at the end of the sentence.

Kaneki felt a blush cover his face at those words. He didn't know why he was so embarrassed - he really shouldn't have been. After all, Hide was his friend…?

Kaneki took in a deep breath to steady himself. "Alright - I know where a nearby bookstore is - are you sure you want to go there?"

Hide also took a breath in, and swung an arm around Kaneki. "Of course! Let's go!"

The duo made their way over to the book shop, both wondering what had come over them.

The bookstore wasn't much to look at, nor was it in the least fancy. However, it was a cozy hole-in-the-wall with many books that Kaneki liked and a pleasant atmosphere, so he occasionally frequented it. The owner of the store knew Kaneki by name, so it was a place that Kaneki could appreciate. As well, the store had a record section - Hide adored music, so he could just hang out there.

The duo walked thru the door, as the owner smiled at Kaneki and gave him a large wave. Both Kaneki and Hide waved back. Hide's eyes widened as he walked in.

"Records? Bye Kaneki! I'll see you in a while!"

Kaneki chuckled as Hide speed walked away. Who knew that his best friend would leave him behind. The horror!

Speaking of horror, Kaneki decided to stop by that book section. He adored the horror genre, so that was the natural place to go. The store was generally quite empty, and especially that section, so when Kaneki saw another person in there, he was shocked.

A young woman with soft, purple hair was there. As soon as she saw him, her eyes snapped to him.

"Hey!" she murmured. Her voice was soft, and clear.

Kaneki smiled brightly at her. "Hello!"

"Hm. You like horror too, right?"

Kaneki nodded, and move closer to her. "Absolutely!"

She smiled brightly. "Really? That is so rare! Any authors that you like?"

"Hm… Takatsuki Sen is amazing. And you?"

At that the woman's eyes widened.

The two spend a long time talking - in fact, Kaneki hadn't picked out any books. Instead, he had spent the entire time talking. He had learnt that the woman's name was Rize, that she was a literature major as well, that she adored Takatsuki Sen's works and that she also visited Anteiku.

About an hour and a half later, Hide appeared. "Yo, Kaneki, we should get going. It's 6:45."

Rize smiled at Kaneki. "Hey… Can we maybe… Exchange phone numbers? I'd like to maybe… Go on a date?" She blushed softly.

Kaneki smiled back. "Of course!"

The two exchanged phone numbers and Kaneki left with Hide, smiling brightly. As soon as they exited the bookstore, Kaneki turned to Hide, who grinned.

"Great job on getting the girl!"

Kaneki flushed. "It's just a date!"

"So? Good job!"

The walk to Anteiku was filled with chatted about the upcoming date between Kaneki and Rize.

"You should so take her out to a bookstore before coming back to Anteiku!"

"Are you sure she'd like that?"

"Well, she clearly likes reading, and you said she goes to Anteiku - if you're going to take someone out on a date, you should listen to them and find out what they like!"

"I guess you're right."

"See! I always am right!"

Kaneki couldn't help but laugh at that. "That quiz of yours?"

Hide raised his brow. "I refuse to speak of that atrocity ever again."

As the friends made their way back towards the coffee shop, they didn't see Rize watching them with a large smirk on her face. "Well, just a bit of time left." she whispered.


	6. I Don't Like Spiders, Not Snakes

"You exchanged phone numbers with her? And she asked you out? That is so cool!"

"Well, we did talk for a while..." Kaneki's voice tailed off as he looked at Hide's beaming face. "Yes...?"

"Where are you going to take her on a date?"

"Why do you want to know?"

"Because I'm your friend, that's why!"

"Well, I don't know..." Kaneki had never gone on a date before - he was shy, and a nerd, and never had anything in common with the girls that liked him. But Rize had so much in common with him...

At that, Hide's eyes widened. "You should plan in out as soon as you can! I'll help you! What does she like?"

"Well, she visits Anteiku often and she really likes reading. In fact, Takatsuki Sen is a mutual favourite of ours..."

"Ok... So, what if you go to a bookstore, and then Anteiku...? It seems like both of you would like that."

Kaneki was amazed. "That is a brilliant idea! Hide, I must thank you! If you need something, I owe you a small favour."

Hide laughed. "Well, I'll keep that in mind!"

The two walked all the way to Anteiku, laughing about whatever came to mind.

Soon enough, Hide and Kaneki walked into the coffee shop, talking about how terrible dramas were actually good. However, their conversation stopped when they saw their target. Or, at least Hide's target.

Nishiki was standing near Touka at the counter. They were talking, though childishly bickering would probably be the best term to describe their conversation.

As they got closer, they could hear them lower their voices, and when Kaneki and Hide approached, they shut up completely.

"This is Nishiki." Touka deadpanned, pointing at the guy right beside her.

Nishiki glared at her, shaking his head in mock disappointment. "Aww, you couldn't let me introduce myself? How terribly rude."

Touka rolled her eyes. "Oh, and you're polite. But anyways, they are Hide and Kaneki." She proclaimed, waving her arm towards them.

"Hey! This is the first time we've caught you, right? You're elusive!" Hide called out, a warm grin lighting his features.

Nishiki rolled his eyes. "No, I just work late at night or early in the morning, generally."

"Well, you're still elusive!"

Kaneki rolled his eyes and held out his hand. "I'm Kaneki."

Nishiki took his hand, albeit rather awkwardly. "Hello." He looked up and down Kaneki until he stopped at his sweatshirt. "Kamii Uni, right?"

Kaneki nodded, wondering what that was about. "Yes, Hide and I attend Kamii."

"What a small world... I attend Kamii as well."

"Cool! What do you study!" Hide jumped in the second after Nishiki stopped speaking.

"Medicine." Nishiki's reply was still curt, but warmer then before. It seemed that he adored his area of study, though who would've been surprised.

"Awesome! I heard you have to have top marks to get into the medicine department! You must've worked hard in school!" Hide called out, a grin on his face. "You must be very dedicated!"

Kaneki was amazed. Kamii was an extremely prestigious school, and according to the other students in the school, marks needed to be accepted into the STEM courses were amazingly high. "I agree with Hide - you definitely worked hard to achieve the averages nessesary! I would've never been accepted! I also heard the entrance exams are ridiculously difficult. Is that true?"

Nishiki smirked at Kaneki. "Yes, it did take a lot of hard work and the entrance exam was ridiculous, but hey. I got in, so that means it's not impossible. And don't sell yourself short - medecine or not, you have to be a good student, being in Kamii, and all. Also, what do you want to order?"

After both Kaneki and Hide ordered, they sat down at a table near the window.

"You should officially ask Rize out now!" Was the first think Hide said as they sat down.

"W-well, didn't she already ask me out?"

"Come on, Kaneki! It's time to get things like that! She asked you out on a theoretical date - it might or might not happen. You should ask her out on a date-date! Plus, I'll be here to help you text her!"

"O-ok? Are you sure that it's alright? We saw each other about an hour ago..."

"So? She will probably appreciate the fact that you want to see her!"

"Alright. But you help me out."

At that, Hide moved his chair to beside Kaneki's. Kaneki pulled out his phone, and opened the messaging screen.

"So, what should I write?"

"Well, maybe something like - Hey, I had an amazing time with you today, and I'd like to go on a date with you. What times are convenient for you?"

"I guess that works..."

"Do it, Kaneki! Send it!"

At that, Kaneki sighed and typed up exactly what Hide had said, word for word. "This ok?"

Hide read over the message, and gave Kaneki a thumbs-up. "Looks great! Send it!"

Kaneki pressed the send button, sighed, and pushed his phone away. "She's probably not going to respond - she's so pretty, and so amazing... Why would she date me?"

"Come on, Kaneki! Stop with this negativity! She will probably want to go out with you! Don't forget who asked you out! Plus, you are amazing, an absolute sweetheart, a great friend and intelligent as ten of me's. You are going to go on a date with her!"

At that, Kaneki blushed. Why was his best friend so amazing?

Just as Hide finished, the phone vibrated. "What did I say?" Hide crowed, beaming brightly. "What does it say?"

Kaneki read it, a small smile creeping onto his face. "She said that she enjoyed us being together and that she wants to see me. She said that she's available all day tomorrow! She also asked what the plan is.."

"Kaneki, that's great! And well, you will go to a bookstore at say, seven, and go to Anteiku at eight thirty..."

"How should I say that?"

"Well, maybe ask her what she feels about this plan? Like, say something like : Well, we could go meet at some bookstore at seven, then go to Anteiku after that."

"Alright... " Kaneki wrote this message out quicker than the last one, and put his phone down. "I hope she will be a okay with this plan..."

"Kaneki, if she doesn't, then we will come up with a different one. It won't be the end of the world."

"I hope you're right..." As he said that, the phone vibrated once again.

"She said yes!" Kaneki squeaked out as Hide grabbed him and hugged him.

"See? I told you so! I told you so!"

"Hah, fine. I should've believed you."

The two cleaned their table, and made their way towards Touka and Nishiki.

"Hey, we'll be going, ok?" Hide said to the two, smiling like always.

Touka raised a brow. "So, what were you guys cheering about earlier?"

"Kaneki got asked out on a date by a very pretty girl!"

"Oh, who?" Nishiki questioned.

Kaneki's face morphed into a love-struck expression. "Rize Kamishiro."

At that, both Touka and Nishiki's eyes widened. Hide looked at them suspiciously. What were they hiding?

"Well... That's great..." Touka said weakly.

Kaneki either didn't notice her tone, or he didn't care. "I know, right? We've got to go!"

As the two walked away, Hide heard Touka say that Nishiki lived close, and that he should prevent 'it' from happening. What could they be possibly talking about? And why did they have such a negative reaction to Rize's name?

He stored it in his mind for later. Now, he should focus on Kaneki.

"Kaneki, that's great! And well, you will go to a bookstore at say, seven, and go to Anteiku at eight thirty..."

"How should I say that?"

"Well, maybe ask her what she feels about this plan? Like, say something like : Well, we could go meet at some bookstore at seven, then go to Anteiku after that."

"Alright... " Kaneki wrote this message out quicker than the last one, and put his phone down. "I hope she will be a okay with this plan..."

"Kaneki, if she doesn't, then we will come up with a different one. It won't be the end of the world."

"I hope you're right..." As he said that, the phone vibrated once again.

"She said yes!" Kaneki squeaked out as Hide grabbed him and hugged him.

"See? I told you so! I told you so!"

"Hah, fine. I should've believed you."

The two cleaned their table, and made their way towards Touka and Nishiki.

"Hey, we'll be going, ok?" Hide said to the two, smiling like always.

Touka raised a brow. "So, what were you guys cheering about earlier?"

"Kaneki got asked out on a date by a very pretty girl!"

"Oh, who?" Nishiki questioned.

Kaneki's face morphed into a love-struck expression. "Rize Kamishiro."

At that, both Touka and Nishiki's eyes widened. Hide looked at them suspiciously. What were they hiding?

"Well... That's great..." Touka said weakly.

Kaneki either didn't notice her tone, or he didn't care. "I know, right? We've got to go!"

As the two walked away, Hide heard Touka say that Nishiki lived close, and that he should prevent 'it' from happening. What could they be possibly talking about? And why did they have such a negative reaction to Rize's name?

He stored it in his mind for later. Now, he should focus on Kaneki.


	7. Nishiki the Interloper

Today was the day - the day of Kaneki's date with Rize. Since they were going to meet at the bookstore later in the evening, Kaneki spend the entire day jittery as can be. He couldn't pay attention to anything - he was honestly too worried.

Hide was very amused the entire time - this was the first time he saw Kaneki that nervous.

"Come on! It's going to go well! You had fun with her the last time you saw her."

"But this is an official date..."

"So? Kaneki, it's going to be alright. Chill."

Kaneki breathed in deeply. "Ok. It will be okay, it will be ok." He took another deep breath. "What could possibly go wrong?"

"Well, if you want me to be honest..."

"No! Please don't!"

"Sure. But it will be ok."

Kaneki sighed, and nodded. "Sure."

"That's the spirit!"

After his conversation, if you could call it that, with Hide, Kaneki was a bit more confident in himself - he was certain the date wouldn't be a horrendous disaster, but he was still nervous. Since he had around two hours to go, he decided to make himself some food.

Despite Hide's jokes, Kaneki was a decent cook. Not an amazing one, but he could feed himself with decently good food, without dying from food poisoning, so he had to guess that counted for something in life.

After preparing a decent sandwich and sitting down to eat, he though about the conversation they had the day they met.

It was unusual for people to like Takatsuki's books. She was a very dark writer, with a clearly misanthropic view on life and a great love for horror and tragedy, but in his eyes, that made the protagonists more interesting. Rize had agreed with him, and brought up an interesting point - what was Takatsuki's life like.

This kept him interested for a while. She probably had a tragic life, so her novels probably had a taste of reality in them...

After another hour or so, Kaneki started getting ready, and left for the bookstore. This time, they were meeting up in a larger store, full of thousands of books to discuss other authors and genres they adored.

He showed up at the library around five minutes before the arranged time, so it was a shock for him to see Rize already standing at the door.

"Am I late?" He called out as he approached Rize. She looked rather shocked at first, before her expression smoothed out, and the corners of her mouth turned upwards.

"No - I just live rather far away, and the walk didn't take as long as always. Should we go inside?" Kaneki nodded no the two entered the bookstore.

They sat in there for two or so hours before deciding to do to Anteiku - it was getting late, after all. On the short walk there, they decided to discuss other authors that both loved, and ended in the consensus that Murakami and Kafka were two other amazing authors.

As they entered Anteiku, Touka's eyes snapped up from the counter and she gave Kaneki a weak smile, but glared at Rize.

Rize smirked back at Touka. Kaneki noticed the exchange, but in his eyes it wasn't something that he was part of.

"Hey, Touka!" He greeted her warmly as he and Rize stopped by the counter. Touka smiled, and looked at Rize.

"Hello! What would you two like?"

"I would like a plain black coffee, and Kaneki would like..." Rize glanced at Kaneki to order.

"I'd like a cappuccino!"

After paying for their orders, Kaneki and Rize started talking about their majors - it turned out that both were pursuing one in Literature, although they took completely different classes.

Soon, the clock turned to ten, and both decided that it was time to go. After thanking Touka profusely, Kaneki and Rize left Anteiku.

Once they stepped outside, Kaneki turned to Rize. "Rize, would you like to go on another date with me?"

Rize grinned. "I'd love to!"

"So, is this goodbye?"

"For tonight!" Rize teased, smiling.

As Kaneki headed his own way, Rize's smile faded, and she called out to Kaneki. "Hey... I hate to ask you this but... Can you walk me home?"

Kaneki looked back at Rize, and she flushed crimson. "There have been ghoul attacks near my building, and well..."

"You're afraid?"

Rize nodded, the blush still staining her cheeks. "So if you don't mind..."

"Of course! I'd love to walk you home!"

The duo made their way thru the 20th Ward, talking quietly about books.

Suddenly, Nishiki came out of the shadows, as if he had just appeared. While this has startled Kaneki, he was happy that someone was joining him on his and Rize's walk. In his happiness, he hadn't noticed his companion glaring angrily at the interloper.

"Oh, Kaneki, Rize, how strange it is to see you here! Do you both live here?" Nishiki had a smirk playing on his features as he looked Rize directly in the eye. Kaneki didn't notice it again.

Rize took a deep breath and smiled brightly at Nishiki, disguising any trace of discontent. "Well, I live around here, as you know, a-and I was scared about the ghoul attacks, so... Kaneki, being the amazing person he is, offered to walk me home..."

Nishiki looked in between being offended and laughing. "Kaneki, do you want me to come with you two? No offence, but you would he not be able to take a ghoul in a fight."

Rize grimaced inwardly, but you could see her facial expressions go thru a few less-than-pleasant emotions as Kaneki eagerly accepted Nishiki's offer.

As soon as Nishiki and Kaneki reached Rize's apartment, she turned to Kaneki.

"Thank you for going on a date with me! Do you want to go on another one? Same time next week, maybe?"

"Sure!" Kaneki's soft smile turned into a wide, bright grin. "I'd love to!"

Rize smiled brightly, and closed the door, as Nishiki turned to Kaneki. "And you, my dear gentleman, do you need me to walk you home, or can you manage on your own?"

"Ah, I'm good. But the ghoul attacks have been happening more and more frequently... It's worrying. I'm lucky that I'm so average, it's unlikely that ghouls would take any interest in me..."

At that, Nishiki let out a sardonic chuckle. "Well, it is still possible. You should be on high alert, though you do live in one of the safest wards, according to the d-CCG."

Kaneki noticed the mild slipup, but didn't care about it enough to pursue the thought further. As they neared the place where Nishiki had met up with the two, Nishiki smiled at Kaneki.

"Well, I better go now - after all, it is getting late. Good luck getting home. See you whenever." And with that, he was gone.

Kaneki smiled at that, and walked back home, his heart feeling so much lighter than before. Once again, he failed to notice the woman staring at him from across the street.


End file.
